Chapter 76: The Boy Who Lost Everything
Snow and dirt and dust mingled on the ground, as Denki Kaminari took another ragged step. His arms were desperate to hang limp at his sides, but every time he did that, his grip on his coat loosened, and the cold air immediately crawled up against his skin. His teeth chattered.
Up ahead was an underground train station. There would be a bathroom down there, before the ticket turnstiles. He could clean up in there…or at least, get as clean as he could.
Dried blood had caked underneath his fingernails. He was pretty sure it was his own. The wound that the telekinetic twins Vin and Kelsier had inflicted upon him with their flying coin had festered, and it was still not healed. On top of that, there were all the bruises from the Chiba incident. He still hadn't gotten a proper look at those.
His breath was hollow and rattly as he slowly went down the steep stairs toward the station. A few people walked past and gave him strange looks. Maybe they'd recognize him and report him to the police. He hoped so. A police report, then heroes come after me, then I'm captured and then it's over. That would be more than enough for him.
…Besides, if the information about the new Paranormal Liberation Front was true, it would be more than over for all of them soon anyway. Denki only hoped that if Shigaraki harbored any resentment, it would not be enough to torture him before he killed him. What else could he hope for?
Maybe if they throw me into Tartarus, I can break my master out or something. But that was ridiculous. His electricity Quirk might come in handy with that but they would suppress it or kill him before he ever got a chance to use it.
He walked into the bathroom. It was dirty and vile and off-white. The mirrors had a distinct green tint to them. He looked at his reflection through some unidentified stains on the glass.
His yellow hair was matted and tangled and long. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes. He slowly took off the coat, and then his yellowing undershirt.
The shirtless boy who stood before him now was skinny as a twig. His bones moved beneath his skin, and his lower torso, pale and sickly, retreated inward. Purple spots marked his arms and chest where the thugs had punched him and taken his money.
He had tried to use the money sparingly for food after the incident with Vin and Kelsier, but eventually some older guys had caught wind of his presence in the area and beaten him up. So now Denki was back to square one. Starving.
Then, Vin's phone buzzed in his pocket. Maybe not fully square one.
Denki had taken the phone along with the cash from the site, and the thugs hadn't stolen it. He'd used Vin's corpse's fingerprints to change the password and now used it to communicate with a new broker. But the guy hadn't come up with anything for him. At least, until now.
Denki read the text in slight disbelief. He wants me to…what? And go there? …No, I can't.
But…if this worked out, he was going to get paid. He would have money. For food, and maybe some warmth. Just one night of peace and rest would be enough. A full belly and a cozier slumber. That's all he wanted.
The only problem? He had to go meet this guy in the realm of the number ten hero.
…
Nighteye peered around the corner of the building, gesturing for Deku and Lemillion to hang back.
The former did so seriously, the latter with a bit more of a smile on his face. Then, Mirio feinted toward the wall as if he intended to use his Quirk to phase through it and blow their cover. Nighteye looked back at him seriously, and the blonde third year's smile wilted. "What?" he whispered. "What's the deal with this guy?"
Nighteye looked back at their target. A bald man with a pointed green beard and a stocky build. Tanjiro Natsuki, villain alias: Grasshopper. A technician and inventor who was known for distributing equipment to other villains.
"His Quirk is called Magnet Feet. He can propel himself toward or away from metal objects at a fast speed. In any city scenario, he has ample opportunities for mobility and escape. We must be careful."
"I can phase underground and cut him off, Sir," Mirio suggested. "While Deku serves as a flashy forward distraction. Then, that gives you an opening to-"
"No." Nighteye shook his head. The man was crossing the street, seeming fairly at ease. Others passed him and didn't recognize him. He was not a particularly notable villain, unless you browsed the Hero Network obsessively.
"As I told the two of you during your last work study with me: haste makes waste. This man does not frequent our territory. That means he is here for a reason."
Deku's eyes widened. "If he's an equipment distributor, that means he might be here to meet up with other villains! Perhaps even the League…"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. It is highly unlikely that the League is still frequenting an area where the yakuza used to operate." Still, the first year had a point. "Deku. If he is here for that reason, why might we hold back on capturing him now?"
"Because we might get a chance to catch others at the same time as him, all at once."
"That's correct. However, as of right now, we have no way of knowing when or where he intends to do his business."
Deku tapped his chin in thought. "It seems our best bet is for you to go up to him and use your Quirk."
"Wait…" Mirio frowned. "This guy is smart. If he has a meeting planned in this area, he would have surely researched what heroes operate around here. He might recognize you."
"It is possible," Nighteye agreed, "but the opposite might also be true, Lemillion. He might have chosen this area precisely because he is not aware of what I'm capable of. However, that is a large risk to bank on, so in the scenario that he recognizes me and runs for it…secure him."
"Why can't we just capture him from the get go, and then have you use your Quirk on him after he's secured?" Midoriya asked.
Nighteye sighed. "Because once he's captured, his future changes. The thing I'll see with my Quirk will have nothing to do with the villains he's planning to meet, as we will have taken him off that path with our actions."
"Ah. Right." The boy reddened. "Well, we'll be ready."
"Stay here, Deku, but get ready to take off," said Mirio. "I'll go around the far side of the intersection and wait. Sir?"
"Sounds like a plan." Nighteye nodded. The boys were still having trouble seeing the big picture immediately, but he had to admit: once any strategy was decided on, they had no trouble working as a team to put it into practice. All Might…I will continue to develop them as much as I can.
It is a shame the third boy did not want to return to me.
He walked forward to catch up to Natsuki, as Mirio phased into the ground, going wide and low to cut the villain off.
The man had his back turned to Nighteye, and was not walking with much purpose. He was glancing down at his phone on occasion and not in a hurry. The meeting must not be soon, or perhaps it is close by. That would be convenient.
Nighteye pulled a hundred-yen coin out of his pocket. There was a decent amount of people around, so this little trick would work just fine.
He put his hand on the man's shoulder, gently. "Excuse me, sir," he said calmly.
The man tensed up for a moment, and then turned. When he saw Nighteye, there was no recognition in his eyes. "Yes?" he asked suspiciously.
"Did you drop this? I just saw it clatter to the ground on the sidewalk back there." Nighteye pointed, and then held up the coin, his other hand still on the villain inventor's shoulder.
The man looked confused. "...No."
In that instant, Nighteye used his Quirk, and the entire visual of the man's near future downloaded into his brain instantly. What he saw took him aback quite a bit, but he had to maintain his composure. "Right. It must have been someone else. My apologies."
"...Yeah." The man turned around, and kept on his way.
A few minutes later, Mirio and Deku grouped back up with him in a side alley.
"He surprised me!" Mirio exclaimed. "Not only did he not recognize you, but he didn't accept the coin, either! You'd think a villain would lie about the money being his!"
"Some villains have different standards to others," said Nighteye.
"What did you see in his future?" Deku asked.
Nighteye frowned. "The situation has grown more…delicate. As I anticipated, he is meeting soon with a villain to give them some equipment. The only thing is…the equipment seems to be a prototype, and he is only handing it off on this person to test. In fact, it seems that the arrangement he has made is that this person will actually be the one getting paid, in return for testing the equipment to ensure its safety."
"Huh. A strange deal," said Mirio. "What type of equipment?"
"A sharpshooter that ejects disks, with the intent to focus electrical energy to a single point."
"Who is he meeting with?" Deku asked.
Nighteye sighed, and rubbed his eyes. "That's…where the situation really gets delicate. He is meeting with your former schoolmate. The traitor. Denki Kaminari."
Deku froze, as Nighteye had expected him to. "Kaminari…" he whispered. "So…the League, after all?"
"Not necessarily," said Mirio, frowning. "He could be working alone now. But…still. That's a big deal. If he DOES still have dealings with them, and we catch him…"
"...It's bigger than that," said Nighteye. "That boy is the biggest stain on UA's reputation in the eyes of the public. If he is finally caught, with the help of UA students no less…" His eyes turned to Deku intently. "...That would go a long way in convincing the government to let your school continue to operate."
Midoriya pursed his lips. "I just…I don't know…I feel like if Aizawa-sensei were here, he'd want us to stay out of this."
"Well, you're with me, not Eraser Head. And I say that we must take this chance. Besides…I also know the location of their meeting. It is in an abandoned section of office building, and not in my patrol territory, either. It's in Ryukyu's zone."
Mirio's eyes widened in excitement. "Are we gonna enlist their help?"
"It would be prudent to. Our Quirks may not be enough to stop both the boy's electricity and the technician's magnetism."
"Did you hear that, Deku?" Mirio nudged the younger boy in excitement. "We're gonna be doing hero stuff with Nejire!"
…
He could hear the dragon flying overhead.
This was the worst place he could have possibly chosen to meet, Denki thought as he walked. Ryukyu commonly patrolled her territory by looking down from the sky, and if she spotted him...
Not only was she a top ranked hero, but she'd been at the yakuza raid, as well. Denki highly suspected that it had been her who Uraraka had been interning with. If Uraraka is there right now, patrolling this area, and spots me...
He remembered how angry she'd been, and shuddered.
If she touches me, I can kill her. But she might also activate her Quirk before then. I don't want to float up and die in space or something.
Then again, there was this equipment that Natsuki, AKA Grasshopper, wanted him to test out. A shooter-pointer system that would let him aim his electricity somewhere. If only it wasn't coming to me so late. If only I'd been able to use it to help the League. Or help the master. Or help my dad.
His dad...his last living relative, and even that barely so. He was still kept in Jakku Hospital, beneath which was the Nomu lab where All For One's doctors worked.
If I could just visit him, Denki thought miserably. But I can't. I never will. Even if this deal goes through and I get food and warmth again. I'll be a runaway to the end of my worthless days.
His stomach cried out. It was hollow, so hollow. He could feel people's disapproving eyes on him as he passed. They all hated him without even knowing him, just because of how horrible he looked. And not one person asked if he needed help.
It had always been like that. No one but All For One had ever shown him any compassion...
...Except for my classmates.
How could it be that he felt nothing but regret?
The dragon's wings flapped again, and Denki felt her massive shadow swoop over him. He looked up in fear, along with some others who looked up in awe...and she passed behind the next building over, continuing on. She had not spotted him.
His phone buzzed. It was Natsuki.
I'll be a little late, the message read. Small holdup. Don't linger at the location too long. If I'm not there within ten minutes, walk out and make another block.
He sighed and put the phone back. Was the technician just stringing him along? Probably. Everyone just saw him as something to take advantage of now. A test rat. A pawn. Or something to be crushed.
His stomach growled again. Cold, he thought, for the millionth time. So cold.
...
Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Nejire met back up with Ryukyu at the front of the agency.
Their mentor had returned to her human form, her arms folded across her chest. "Any of you spot anything?" she asked.
"Just a small-time bike thief!" Nejire reported. "Tsu-chan talked him down and he returned it. She did great!"
Ryukyu gave the frog girl an approving glance. "Well done, Froppy."
Tsu flushed a little red. "Thank you, ribbit."
Ochaco remained silent. She'd been the one to spot the guy in the first place, even with Nejire flying around overhead. But whatever.
Ryukyu sighed. "I saw no signs of anything on my end. Why don't we-"
"Ryukyu," a voice said.
All four of them turned to see the newcomers.
"Nighteye," Ryukyu greeted in surprise. "What brings you he-"
"Deku!" Nejire exclaimed, and floated over to Midoriya in excitement, sweeping him up in a big, giggly hug. "I'm so glad to see you!"
Midoriya turned to a blushing mess, though he did return Nejire's affection to a degree. "M-me too," he said.
Ochaco wondered why Nejire had used her nickname for Izuku, but then, she said to Mirio, "And hey to you too, Lemillion!"
Ochaco realized. Oh. She's just using it as his hero name, not as a nickname. Right. She felt like she was back at the beginning of the year again.
"Hello, Nejire," Mirio said, laughing. "And hey to you first year girls, too."
"Hello, ribbit. Hey, Midoriya-chan." Tsu greeted. Ochaco just waved silently. She was angry at herself for letting old feelings flow. For some reason, Ojiro's face floated into her mind, and she felt guilty.
The two pros tolerated the students' casual demeanor for that long before turning back to each other. "What's the situation?" Ryukyu asked Nighteye. "I know you would not show up here unless it was something serious."
"Has someone from the yakuza escaped, ribbit?" Tsuyu asked.
"I'm afraid it's worse." Nighteye looked straight at the two first year girls. "Your old classmate is in the area. Denki Kaminari."
Ochaco's blood ran cold. In an instant, all other thoughts fled her. All she could see was that scene at the collapsed road. His uncaring demeanor. His sad smile. And his electricity.
Her fists clenched.
...
The seven heroes went in a line like this: Deku in front, running and hopping on rooftops, coursed with green lightning. Nejire followed right behind him in the air, her yellow waves mixing with his lightning and crackling the air with energy. Tsuyu and Ochaco followed behind them, hopping and floating along. Mirio and Nighteye brought up the rear, while Ryukyu watched from the sky.
Tsuyu felt her heart race as she took leap after leap, skipping over the roofs of buildings, her legs getting into the rhythm of the pursuit. She imagined action music in her head as she followed Deku and Nejire's dancing lights.
Down on the streets, people saw the heroes on the move, and pointed and gasped and wondered.
"Hey, isn't that UA students? And Ryukyu!"
"What's going on?"
Tsuyu looked back at Nighteye. "How much time do we have until the meeting?"
"It should be within the next hour. I apologize that I cannot be more specific."
"That's a wide margin of error," Ochaco growled. "What if we miss it?"
"That's precisely why we are moving so fast now."
"Fast it is!" Nejire exclaimed, overhearing. "Let's see if I can keep up with Deku!"
Midoriya, for his part, seemed very serious about this, but he turned to give his girlfriend a challenging smile. "Let's see if you can!"
Tsuyu looked worriedly over at Ochaco. The brunette's eyes were narrowed and focused forward. She'd been acting more normal since the sports festival, and Tsu suspected that Ojiro had something to do with it. Still…Ojiro wasn't here. And Deku and Nejire were.
"Ochaco-chan," Tsuyu said in a low voice so that the rushing wind shielded their conversation from the others as they moved. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ochaco asked right back, not looking at her.
"Well…with the two of them, and all, ribbit…"
"Two of who?" Ochaco raised one eyebrow.
Tsuyu sighed. "Don't make me say it."
"No, I will. Go ahead, Tsu. Say it. If you're really worried about me, then be up front about it." Her tone was harsh, wavering.
"Ochaco-chan…Midoriya and Nejire-senpai is who I mean. Are you going to be able to…work with them?"
"If they work with me." Ochaco floated herself over the gap between two buildings, keeping up with the frog girl.
"Well, it's just…you seem a little irritated…"
"I'm irritated at them because I'm worried they aren't taking this seriously enough." She nodded forward, to where Deku and Nejire were now moving in sync next to each other, smiling, looking more toward the other person than toward where they were going.
"That's not fair to Midoriya. Or either of them, for that matter. Nejire may be excitable but he, at least, knows when to get serious, and he's more than capable of reigning her in. And that's only if Ryukyu doesn't do so first."
"And I don't think you're being fair to me," Uraraka growled. "You immediately assumed I was jealous of them. All you and the others do is look at me with concern and coddle me and worry over my feelings. I'm sick of it. Leave me alone and let's just catch this crooked piece of shit already."
"Ochaco-chan…" Tsuyu didn't know what to say. Uraraka floated on ahead, leaving her behind, not looking back.
"Hurry up, Froppy! Don't lag behind!" said Mirio, and she jolted, forcing herself to keep moving.
But she stared at her friend's back, her lost, angry friend…and despaired.
…
Denki arrived at the building for the third time. He'd already shown up twice, and found it empty. Since Natsuki had told him to walk around the block again if that happened, he'd done so. But if he still wasn't here now…
…Denki sighed, checked his phone, and realized that there was indeed a new message. It said only one word: here.
He walked into the building. Much like the warehouse in which he'd confronted Vin and Kelsier, it was shadowy and drafty. Dust danced in sunbeams coming in from high windows. The rest of the building, which was several floors of offices still in use, creaked and rumbled above them. Normal people going about their work lives, unaware of what was happening beneath.
Tanjiro Natsuki, villain alias Grasshopper, waited on the roof of a car, sitting on it with one leg crossed over the other. "Sorry about that," the man said politely. He had a pointed beard and was built like a blacksmith. He reminded Denki of some kind of fantasy dwarf or gnome. In any other circumstances, that might have been funny. Denki couldn't remember the last time he'd genuinely laughed.
The man hopped down from the car and brought round a messenger bag, tied to his waist. "I appreciate you coming out of your way for me," he said. "I know you must have a busy schedule."
Denki was a little perturbed by the man's surprising genuineness. He doesn't know as much about me as Vin and Kelsier did. Maybe if he did, he would be more sinister. "Well, let's just go as quickly as we can," he croaked back. "This is the zone of a very competent hero, after all."
Grasshopper raised an eyebrow at the boy's tone. "Your voicebox there sounds all worn out. You getting enough to eat and sleep, kid?"
"Not at all. Why do you think I'm testing this for you?" He couldn't help but let the edge of desperation creep into his voice.
"Alright, alright, I get it. Here." The man pulled out a large white attachment, almost as big as a dinner plate. "Try that on for size. It goes on your wrist."
With slightly trembling fingers, Denki took the apparatus from him, and slipped it on. It fit…strangely well. He tapped the surface of it with one finger. It felt like plastic, but one could tell there was metal underneath. Almost like a phone case.
"It comes with five Pointers. They're already inserted." Grasshopper stepped aside, freeing up the space between Denki and the abandoned car. "Give it a shot, no pun intended."
Denki lifted up his right arm, closed his fist, and closed one eye, aiming for the car door. He lowered his right thumb down to the strap of the shooter, which had the activation button on it. He pressed it.
SHOOOOOOOOM! A disk went flying out at high speed, hitting the car hard enough to leave a dent. The disk seemed to stick to the car and wobble, as if preparing to fall.
In that split second, Denki pointed his finger with his thumb straight up, and activated his Quirk toward the disk.
A single, thick line of electricity zapped out from his finger and went straight for the disk before spreading all over the car. A loud buzzing sound hit his ears, and an acrid smell filled the air. Then, the disk fell off.
Denki lowered his arm, staring at the shooter, dumbfounded.
Grasshopper walked over and picked up the disk with gloves, inspecting it. He frowned. "They should be stickier. I guess it works better on organic material than metal." He tossed the disk back to Denki, who caught it and re-inserted it into the shooter. "Which brings me to the rest of our arrangement. I want you to go around and use that on heroes. Use up all the power in the shooter. It will recharge the disks when you put them back on for further use, but eventually it runs out of its own power. I'm still developing the charger, so when you run out of juice, we'll meet up again and you'll get paid."
Denki's eye twitched. "I…you're not paying me now?"
Natsuki laughed. "Why would I? You've barely tried it out. For villain equipment to be viable, it has to be shown as effective against our enemies, not just some car."
"But…" His face fell. His stomach growled again, betraying him. Natsuki's eyes fell down to it. Don't tear up. Don't break down. You…you can't afford to…
"Kid," the technician said, more softly. "I communicated this very clearly to you in our phone conversations. Don't even try to trick me out of it."
"I can't," Denki half-whispered. "I can't fight heroes in this state."
"Well, you should have thought of that before agreeing to this. I chose you because your Quirk is so compatible with the device, but if you can't test my equipment properly, then you won't get paid at all."
Denki didn't know what to do. He'd never been at such a loss. The idea of picking a fight with heroes…and getting away with it…seemed…insurmountable.
"Come on, kid. Let me walk you outside."
He kept his head down as he followed Natsuki out.
The white winter sun hit his face as they exited the building into the side lot. Denki blinked, his eyes readjusting to the light. He lifted up his right arm, the shooter still on it, to shield himself…and looked up to see…
Grasshopper gasped. "Shit, kid. Run!"
Perched on the building across the lot were Midoriya, Asui, Uraraka, two UA third years, the hero Nighteye…and looming above them all, flapping her wings, casting a freezing shadow over the lot, the dragon heroine Ryukyu.
They were all looking right at him.
He felt a jolt of terror, so intense that a scream nearly bubbled up from his parched throat. He swayed, his feet turning one way and then the other. His whole world collapsed around him, and his mind with it.
"Denki Kaminari! Tanjiro Natsuki!" Ryukyu roared. "Come quietly, and you will be treated with respect!"
"Fat chance!" Natsuki snorted, and took off toward the right, out of the lot and toward the street.
The dragon flapped her great wings and lifted herself into the air. The shadow over Denki's face deepened. He gaped at his former classmates, now leaping off the roof toward him, panic flooding into his system like nothing he'd ever felt…
…He felt the shooter on his arm, and did the only thing left to him.
Denki planted his feet, and got ready to fight.
…
Tsuyu leapt off the roof, following Ochaco down toward Kaminari. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lemillion sink into the ground, preparing to come up behind the boy. Kaminari left before we all fought him. He won't know what Togata-senpai is capable of.
"Froppy! Throw!" Ochaco shouted, and kicked up loose slates in the lot with her Quirk. Tsuyu whirled, catching them with her tongue, and threw them at Kaminari. Ochaco pressed her fingertips together. "Release," she growled.
Denki rolled sideways to dodge. Tsuyu eyed the thing on his arm with some interest. Is that what he just got from the technician?
One spare tile struck him in the side of the head, and he stumbled back, flailing. "AH!"
Suddenly, a trashcan lid came flying at the two girls, slicing through the air. Tsuyu hissed and brought her tongue in. Ochaco ducked. It crashed against the wall behind them with a CLANG!
"I told you to RUN, kid!" the bearded technician yelled. He'd thrown the lid, and then jumped up onto the side of the building.
Nighteye was running up. "Girls, watch out! His Quirk…"
The technician activated his feet, and propelled himself off the side of the building at high speed, out toward the street. He landed on a passing car, which slammed on the brakes, screeching and swerving. It swerved into another lane, as the man propelled himself off of it and down the street.
Ryukyu gasped. "I'll get after hi-"
Another car was coming on the far side, and the driver must have spun the wheel to avoid the chaos, because it began to flip.
Ryukyu folded into a dive, trying to get there in time…
…and then black tendrils wrapped around the car, pulling it to a stop.
Deku flew through the air, anchoring himself to the car as he pulled it to a safe stop with his new power. His teeth gritted, yanking himself along, trying to close the distance to Natsuki. "You won't…get away…"
Another car was coming from the first lane. Natsuki bounced himself off of it, hard enough to leave a dent in the roof. The car slammed on the brakes.
Deku sent his black tendrils out after the villain, but the third car entered his vision, again threatening to flip. He caught it with the black whips, flipping in midair, reorienting himself, and flicking out a finger blast of air to slow himself down. He cried out in pain from using his new ability. "NEJIRE!" he roared, straining to pull the cars to a stop. "GET AFTER HIM!"
A huge energy wave blasted through the air, and Nejire's blue hair streamed out behind her as she went flying past Ryukyu, pursuing the villain. Ryukyu turned, catching another car in her wings as it tried to screech to a halt. Deku flicked his finger again, blasting himself along backward, following Nejire.
Ryukyu's shadow fell back over them, as Nighteye threw his weighted seal projectiles at Kaminari to pin him to the wall of the building. Kaminari dodged and weaved. Tsuyu hopped toward him, closing the distance. She could hear his heavy breathing, could see the uncontrolled panic in his eyes, like a caged, cornered animal.
"Concede!" Uraraka shouted furiously, releasing her Quirk and trying to drop the garbage can lid on him. Denki kicked it aside in midair, nearly hitting Tsu with it. She slid up short, stumbling backward.
Lemillion emerged from the wall behind Kaminari and tried to tackle him, but the electricity user sidestepped him, having backed his way almost into the street where the car pileup was…
Ryukyu dived.
"This is it for you, boy!" she called out her shadow filling up the space of the lot. "Your time as a free threat is ove-"
Tsuyu's eyes widened in horror. Kaminari was looking up at the approaching dragon, but it was like all the panic had gone from him. His eyes just looked…dead. Uncaring.
He lifted his right arm up almost casually, and as the number ten heroine bore down upon him, her claws reaching out to grab him…he electrocuted her.
"GAAAAAAAH!" Ryukyu screeched, and her draconic roar shook the earth. Yellow bolts of shock zapped and traveled up her entire body, enveloping her like a horrible blanket.
"You forgot the crucial rule, lady," he said in the most terrifyingly sad voice Tsu had ever heard. "Don't touch me."
Ryukyu's massive, unconscious body fell limp, and nearly on top of Lemillion. Togata let out a panicked gasp and sunk into the ground to dodge. The dragon hit the ground with a POW! And Uraraka screamed.
Nighteye cursed, and dashed forward, throwing the last of his seals. "He is a more skilled combatant than I anticipated! Froppy, Uravity, get ba-"
Kaminari got on one knee, whirled, closed one eye, and aimed his strange apparatus straight for Nighteye. A disk shot out of it, jammed itself into the pro's shoulder, and Kaminari pointed his finger.
A line of lightning burst from his finger and made a beeline straight for Nighteye. He yelped, shocked, and collapsed.
Tsuyu's heart skipped a beat. That shooter gave him ranged attacks.
He turned his finger toward Tsuyu, and she leapt sideways, dodging up and over him. She heard another one of the disks bounce off the wall behind her. She planted her feet into the side of the building and ricocheted sideways, her heart racing to stay clear of the shots…
…And Uraraka was there.
"You MONSTER!" she screamed, throwing a punch at his face. "You WORTHLESS, CONNIVING, HORRIBLE PIECE OF…"
She managed to land her palm on his chest, floating him up…but Kaminari grabbed both her hands, forced them together, and electrocuted her.
ZZZZZZAAAAAAPPPPPPPP!
Uraraka's whole body shook, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head, unconscious. Kaminari's feet returned to the ground.
Tsuyu screamed. She hopped down, making a beeline straight for her former classmate, but he grabbed Uraraka by the ear, whirled, and picked up Nighteye's unconscious form and held him up too. They both slumped in both his arms.
Tsuyu slid to a stop at the edge of the lot. Behind Kaminari, Lemillion emerged from the wall. Deku and Nejire went after the technician, she thought, panicking. It's just Togata-senpai and me left.
Her eyes darted toward Ryukyu's massive form, slumped half-over into the road, causing a further pileup of cars. People were screaming and shouting questions. Police sirens sounded in the distance.
Lemillion made to charge Kaminari, but the boy held Uraraka and Nighteye out like shields. "Don't come any closer!" he shouted, his voice wavering.
Tsuyu made eye contact with Mirio. His face was incredibly, incredibly serious. She didn't know what to do. They circled Kaminari, directly across from each other, the electric user at their center.
His head and eyes darted around in a panic. His whole body was shaking, but he kept holding up his two unconscious hostages. "I'll kill them!" he warned. "I'll d-do it! They're just knocked out r-right now, but…"
"Come on, kid," said Mirio, in a concerned, warning voice. "Think this through carefully."
"Oh, I've had plenty of t-time to do that." Kaminari's breath came out in hollow rattles. His eyes darted back toward Tsuyu.
Tsu held her hands out, opening her mouth and closing it. "Ka…Kaminari, pl-please. Just…just l-let…let them go…let Ochaco go…ribbit…"
"You mean this girl?" Kaminari spat, lifting up her unconscious form and shaking it like a ragdoll. "This angry girl that would have k-killed me if she had the chance?"
"That's not true," said Mirio. "Heroes don't do that."
"And neither do you, Kaminari," said Tsu. Trying to reach him. "You don't do that, either."
"You don't know m-me! Don't even pretend like you did, Asui!"
Tsuyu opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She'd almost told him, instinctively…call me Tsu.
Kaminari was crying now, she realized. She felt like crying, too.
"Please, ribbit…" she croaked.
They stared at each other for what felt like a long, long time. Tsuyu had never felt so useless in her life. She couldn't reach Uraraka, so what made her think she could reach this lost, lost soul?
Frightened tears were openly streaming down Kaminari's face now.
"I can tell you don't want to do this," said Togata, daring to take a step closer. "If you just…if you just let them go now, we can have a…a talk. Alright?"
The police sirens were growing louder. Kaminari's eyes quickly darted out toward the street. Red and blue light flashed in the corner of vision.
"Oh, no…" Togata muttered.
Kaminari saw the police, and panicked. He dropped both Uraraka and Nighteye roughly, and took off.
"SHIT!" Togata swore. "Froppy, take care of them! I'll get after him-"
As Kaminari hopped over a fence and over into the next block, Lemillion phased right through it, chasing him. In the same general direction that Deku and Nejire had gone.
Tsuyu dashed over to Uraraka, who was stirring, getting up and groaning.
"Ochaco-chan! You got shocked bad, you need to-"
"No." Uraraka threw off Tsuyu's arms, and got to her feet slowly, swaying. Her eyes were rolling around like crazy. "I don't feel any pain right now. I'm going to catch him. And he won't get me this time."
"Ochaco, wait. That's a terrible idea. Please. Please just l-listen to me."
"Look after Ryukyu and Sir Nighteye. Tell the police what's going on." Not looking back, Uraraka floated herself up and over the fence. Following Kaminari and Togata.
…
They were developing a rhythm now.
Izuku would come really close to catching the magnet villain, like within a few meters, and the bad guy would leap off another oncoming car! Izuku, being the heroic boy that he was, would linger back to catch the car with his new black power, and Nejire would take up the chase.
The problem was that the bad guy kept using his powers on the cars, and seemed to refuse to leave the street setting. Nejire didn't want to use an energy blast on him while he was near all these cars. Izuku was amazing and could keep up with a lot, but she didn't want him to have to save people because of her.
She already felt bad for leaving Ochaco and Tsu behind. And Ryukyu, as well. But they had to catch this guy, and quick! He was an important villain inventor!
"We've got to chase him off the street!" Nejire called to Deku as he used his power to catch back up to her. She had a lot of questions about his new ability, but he always seemed to squirrelly about disclosing any info about it to her. For another time.
"My thoughts exactly!" Izuku replied. "But he's got no interest in us except getting away! We can't really lure him…" His eyes widened. "Nejire, keep up the chase! I'm going up!"
"Huh?" Nejire's eyes widened, confused, as her boyfriend flicked his finger again, maneuvering himself upward onto a nearby building. Then, he spoke into their comm link.
"Chase him to the left! There's a dead end at the end of that street against a tall building! He won't be able to go anywhere but up!"
Her heart flooded with affection for him and how clever he was. The villain bounced off another car. Nejire caught it with an energy blast. She wasn't as good at that as Deku, but managed to slow the car down a bit roughly.
She looked up. At the intersection ahead, she saw that he was making a beeline for the right. No! Her eyes darted down that road, and saw no incoming cars. Perfect.
"Nejire WAVE!" she roared, underhanding a blast that went shooting across the ground like a yellow wall of energy. It dashed across the street, causing the villain to pull up short, the power blocking his way. He whirled and turned down the left road, bouncing off another car.
Nejire caught it. She caught the next one, too, and the next. The bad guy reached the dead end, and turned in a circle in a panic, having nowhere to go. He began to use his Quirk to run up the side of the building in huge leaps.
That Quirk is cool! Nejire thought. If only it wasn't wasted on a bad guy.
Deku leapt down from the building and met him in midair, wrapping his powered arms around him and pushing him to the ground. "Nejire!" he shouted. "Catch!"
She sent out one last energy blast, which spiraled up in a curve, furrowing out beneath Deku and the guy as they plummeted. They hit her power like a trampoline and bounced, slowing to a stop.
Nejire lowered herself down carefully like a fairy, and then ran over to help Deku restrain him. The guy slumped, apparently having given up. Behind them, they could hear the police arriving.
She leaned over and kissed Izuku's cheek. "We make a great team, huh?"
Izuku blushed and smiled. "Yeah, we do."
The comm link buzzed, causing them both to instantly turn serious.
"This is Lemillion! Kaminari is headed your way!"
…
When Izuku Midoriya heard that, he didn't know how to feel.
He'd specifically gone after the technician villain when things had turned chaotic, and he'd done that for a reason. Later, if questioned about it, he could have just said that he thought his Quirk was best fit for pursuing him, and catching any cars that he destroyed with Blackwhip. But…the real reason…was that Izuku didn't know if he could face Kaminari.
He knew how Uraraka felt about Kaminari. Enraged, almost to the point of recklessness. And Tsuyu was worried about her. He knew all this, and…he'd felt the need to pull himself out of the situation. Like, if he'd lingered, he'd make it worse. But why do I feel that way?
He turned his head to look at Nejire, and for some reason, thought that she might have something to do with it.
But Kaminari was coming anyway. And he had to do his duty as a hero.
The electric user was running down the street beneath him. It had turned into a full-blown chase. Lemillion was lagging behind, but running through buildings instead of around them meant that he would be catching up soon. And Nejire was going wide around, preparing to cut Kaminari off. They were headed for another dead end at a building, some six blocks away from the previous situation. Deku hopped across over to the next roof. He'd briefly lost sight of Kaminari, but spotted him again emerging from an alley. Lemillion burst from the wall beneath. The electric user whirled, slid down some stairs, and kept going…
…And Nejire swooped down from above, blasting energy right for him.
Kaminari slid sideways and angled himself against the wall, making himself as tiny as possible. Nejire turned in midair. "Wow, you move well!" she exclaimed. "Almost like-"
Izuku closed the distance. "NEJIRE, WATCH OUT!" he roared.
Kaminari shot the disk directly into her arm, and activated it. BZZZZZZZZ! Nejire's floating form seized up, trembling, and Izuku swore he saw her skeleton through the shocking light. His heart stopped as she tumbled down toward the ground.
Mirio ran forward to catch her, and Izuku leapt toward Kaminari in a rage, sending out Blackwhip.
Kaminari's eyes widened. "M-Midoriya? What the hell is th-that?"
"It's what'll catch you and put you behind bars for good, that's what!" Izuku roared, all pretense and worries abandoned. He had to put his concerns aside, and catch Kaminari. Before he could hurt anyone else.
Blackwhip wrapped around the boy's waist, and it was only a nanosecond later that Izuku wondered if Kaminari's electricity would travel up the tendrils.
As it happened, it did.
Panicked, Izuku released the Quirk, and it dissipated before the electricity could reach back to his body. Kaminari took off running again, freed from the whips. But he was almost to the dead end.
Izuku looked down, and saw that Nejire's form had been propped up against the wall, and that Mirio had disappeared.
A moment later, Lemillion himself emerged right out of the wall in front of Kaminari, and charged at him.
Kaminari hissed and shot his fourth disk. It phased right through Mirio, who raised his muscled arm confidently. "You don't know my Quirk, do ya?"
Kaminari backed up in a panic…and Togata's fist hit him in side, hard. He spat blood and stumbled backward.
Izuku closed the distance. Mirio will finish it. He's got this.
Lemillion vanished into the ground, and then popped back up behind Kaminari, hitting him again. And again. The boy's body flopped about, and Izuku saw his clothes move…realizing how skinny he'd become.
Empathy poured from him like a faucet, and he blurted, "Togata, wait! Stop!"
Mirio faltered, and suddenly Kaminari whirled, giving him a full jolt of electricity. The third year stumbled, not fully knocked out but dazed, and Kaminari turned to go up a nearby fire escape…
…Uraraka leapt down upon him, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked his shooter off violently. "IT ENDS HERE!" she screamed.
Kaminari yelped, and reached out to electrocute her, but she sidestepped him, grabbed his arm again, and flipped him over her shoulder, sending him flying back down the fire escape and toward the ground. All the electricity missed her. "GUNHEAD MARTIAL ARTS!"
Izuku leapt forward. "You're not the only one who got ranged attacks!" he yelled. "DELAWARE SMASH, AIR FORCE!"
He flicked a finger air blast at Kaminari, and the boy went flying back, smashing into the wall, sliding down and down and down…and slumped.
Izuku, Uraraka, and Togata all got to their feet, slowly advancing on him. Police cars were now swarming the street. Tsuyu arrived, hopping along next to the incoming crowds of personnel and civilians. "What happened, ribbit?" she asked. "Where's Neji…oh."
Izuku took a slow step toward Kaminari. A shadow had fallen over the boy. Is he…knocked out?
The UA traitor lifted his head. Blood was slowly seeping out of a wound near his temple. Heavy purple bags hung beneath his sunken eyes. His lips pulled back from his teeth. His pale body shook.
And he was crying.
"Please…" he murmured. "Please just…I just wanna sleep. I'm tired. I'm so, so tired."
Izuku fell to his knees. His legs had given out.
And the police came forward, and arrested Denki Kaminari at last.
…
This chapter fought me a lot and I'm not overly happy with it but here you go anyway.